Crookes Plantation’s over E2m loss due to strike
SITEKI – Crookes Plantation incurred a loss of over E2 million due to the workers’ strikes, which took over a month.
According to the company¶s *eneral 0anager *0 , /ucky 1gwenya, the loss incurred by the company might escalate as the exact quantification made by the company was calculated at ( . million during the first couple of weeks of the strike.
1gwenya explained that the aforemen tioned figure was quantified at the early stages of the strike.
Destruction
1oteworthy, is that the strike that ended a fortnight ago had devastating destruc tion after three sugar cane fields were allegedly torched by unknown people and banana plants, which were ready to be harvested also suffered damages, as the plants were not irrigated and supported with logs due to the workers¶ strike.
³:e are still to quantify the total costs of the loss incurred for the duration of the strike, but for now we have the ( . million loss that we quantified at the early stages of the strike action,´ 1gwenya said.
7he *0 highlighted that protests ac tions were inevitable in the corporate in dustry, on the basis that workers exercised their rights to engage in industrial action if they were aggrieved. ³7he company is yet to quantify the loss incurred for the month long strike,´ the *0 said.
After the strike, the &rookes 3lantation workers returned to work as the company increased the education allowance from ( to ( .
7he company has also agreed to in crease salaries by . per cent from the
. per cent that the management had tabled during negotiations with the work ers¶ representatives.
7he workers wanted a salary increment of eight per cent.
According to 6wa]iland Agricultural and 3lantations :orkers 8nion 6A3 :8 3resident 0alungisa 'lamini, the management has met some of the work ers¶ demands, hence they have returned to work.
7he union tabled demands to the company, which included an education allowance of ( for seasonal and permanent staff.
7he president said they were still en gaging the management to address the other critical issues raised by the workers.
After the burning of the sugar cane fields by unknown people, 6A3:8 %ranch &hairperson 6anele 6ihlongonyane said the workers were exercising their right to fair labour practices, and it was disheartening that unknown people had taken advantage of the situation and set alight the sugar cane fields.
6ihlongonyane said they had also noted that the banana plants were destroyed by the scorching heat that was experienced across the country for the past three months.
)urthermore, unknown people further slashed the tyres of the centre pivot irrigation system used for irrigating the sugar cane fields.
³7he bottom line of engaging in the strike is to force the management to lis ten to our grievances, but we have been informed that unknown people set alight three sugar cane fields and slashed the tyres of the pivot irrigation system. :e are distraught about such bad news as our intention is clear in engaging in strike action,´ the chairperson said.